McConnell to support Trump if party picks him as its 2024 nominee

[February 26, 2021]    WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, who excoriated former President Donald Trump over the deadly Jan. 6 Capitol riot less than two weeks ago, said on Thursday that he would "absolutely" vote for Trump if he became the 2024 Republican presidential nominee.

U.S. Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) arrives in a U.S. Senate subway car to attend as former U.S. President Donald Trump's attorneys begin pleading Trump's defense case during the fourth day of the impeachment trial of the former president on charges of inciting the deadly attack on the U.S. Capitol, on Capitol Hill in Washington, U.S., February 12, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo

McConnell, who Trump blasted last week as "a dour, sullen, and unsmiling political hack," said he expects to see an open contest for the Republican White House nomination in 2024 but showed no hesitation in backing Trump when asked whether he would vote for him as nominee.

"The nominee of the party? Absolutely!" McConnell told Fox News in an interview.

"There's a lot to happen between now and '24. I've got at least four members that I think are planning on running for president, plus some governors or others," he said. "Should be a wide open race."

Trump is expected to talk about the possibility of a 2024 run when he speaks to the Conservative Political Action Conference in Orlando, Florida, on Sunday, nearly two months after his supporters stormed the U.S. Capitol in an attempt to overturn his defeat in November's election by Democrat Joe Biden.

The House impeached Trump on a charge that he incited the Jan. 6 insurrection by repeatedly claiming the election had been stolen. After the Senate acquitted him, McConnell declared on the Senate floor that Trump was "practically and morally responsible" for the attack that left five people dead, including a police officer.

Trump's upcoming appearance at CPAC led to Republican infighting in Congress this week, after House of Representatives Republican Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney said she did not believe he should play a role in the future of the party or the country.

Asked what he thought of Trump's speaking plans, McConnell replied: "I don't have any advice to give the former president about where he should speak or what he should say."

As for his own war of words with Trump? "What happened in the past is not something relevant now. We're moving forward," McConnell said.

(Reporting by David Morgan and Eric Beech; Editing by Daniel Wallis)

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